So Alex at BesoMami shared some sobering statistics about reading and has set the intent to track the books that she reads this year. A cool idea, and one that Reverend Reader has elevated to an art form. Seriously, I don’t know where she finds the time to read so much! With two little boys! ~Awe~
I have done as much reading in the last month as I did the entire year prior, though I do read a lot. And as I’ve said before, I try to read stuff other than churchy books.
Anyway, here is the list of books since SBJ was born (technically 2007). Since I’m sharing several at once I’m not going to take the time to link every single one of these, but you can find them on Amazon or at your local library.
(By the way, how cool is it that one can not only search a library’s online catalog, but have the library staff pull items and have them waiting up front for quick pickup? Essential when carting around a baby who fusses at unpredictable times.)
Novels
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I don’t know why I couldn’t get into The Kite Runner, but this one grabbed me right from the beginning. Maybe I’m more drawn to the stories of women. Anyway, I already called this one “beautiful but devastating” and I stick by that.
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. I picked it up in Heathrow last summer* and finally got around to finishing it. I enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime more than this one, but it was a good enough read. There were some hilarious scenes and I could see it making a great film.
*That sounds very glamorous, doesn’t it? Alas, my globetrotting days have been seriously curtailed of late.
Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout. This novel with a clergy protagonist runs circles around Gilead, which I found a ginormous bore. It nails church dynamics in a way that will make you cringe and finally cheer. Great stuff.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. A young adult novel, this is a quick, lovely read that is as potent a parable about the reign of God as you might hear from Jesus himself.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley. Another young adult novel, recommended by a blog friend. This was a sweet, intelligent comfort-read. I look forward to sharing it with my kids someday.
Churchy Books
Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures by Gibbs and Bolger. A bit of a slog, but a good analysis of the emerging church phenomenon. Scholarly in tone.
Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Rainer and Geiger. This is the most annoyingly written (and subtitled) book, yet I cannot stop recommending it to anyone and everyone who works in the church. If you are as “over” the whole program church, congregation-as-service-provider thing as I am, this is a thought-provoking read. Mainly I want enough people to read this so we can talk to one another and brainstorm: “OK, so what we’re doing isn’t working, now what?!”
Other
Pure Drivel by Steve Martin (re-read). Oh. My. God. I read this one during the late-night nursing sessions. I managed to suppress most of my chortling, though my shaking in quiet laughter did impede the little one’s breastfeeding from time to time. “Side Effects,” a parody of the fine print in medication ads, is worth the price of the book. As is “Taping My Friends.”
Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell. Witty and often poignant essays about this crazy nation and world we live in. Sarah is the hip geek par excellence.
Night by Elie Wiesel. This has been on my list for a while.
Good Lord.
It just doesn’t get any more tragic than: Elie and his father deciding to evacuate the hospital at the camp, a decision that leads to his father’s death, when they would have been liberated two days later if they’d stayed. (white-fonted if you haven’t read it—highlight the text to read)
Living Simply with Children: A Voluntary Simplicity Guide for Moms, Dads, and Kids Who Want to Reclaim the Bliss of Childhood and the Joy of Parenting by Marie Sherlock. I actually read two books on this topic and recommend this one (can’t remember the other title and it’s in the room with the sleeping baby at the moment). The simplicity movement isn’t about returning to frontier times! It’s about slowing down a little, unplugging, and being mindful of one’s habits and of one’s spending of time and money and how they impact others and the earth. As mentioned in recent comments, simplicity may not be quite the right word for this. “Living gently,” perhaps?
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn. This book indicts most of the ways people parent these days, what with their (our) time-outs, sticker charts and incessant cries of “Good Job!” I fear the man is a prophet, because while I don’t agree with everything he says, his assertions cannot be ignored. He also writes with wit and charm. I may have to explore some of this in a longer post sometime.
Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deveare Smith. This book was interesting with flashes of brilliance. Makes me want to experience more of her work; I mainly know her from The West Wing. I do love this quote about writing workshops and am working on an article for the National Crankypants newsletter about this as it pertains to the church:
I don’t believe in promising students safety. The world is just too rough for that at the moment. I think we should teach resilience.
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Asides
» “If you like art, and you try it, you can’t stop doing it.” –little she-who-is
» Hanukkah begins this Sunday. Enjoy the best comedy piece on the Festival of Lights since Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah song.
» So….. offering envelopes. Still useful and worth the expense to churches, or hopelessly square and terribly 20th century?
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Damn, girl, it’s only the 3rd!!
I have no idea how many books I read in any year. I think I’ve amassed almost enough to declare a non-profit library - if I trusted anyone with my babies!
I’m usually “working on” several books - currently that would include “Aspahlt Jesus”, “Best American American Essays of 2006″, “Best American Political Writing of 2006″, “Winning Local and State Elections”, and some book on energy policy whose title I can’t remember at the moment. On order are “Progressive Christians Speak”, “Perfect Freedom” and “Liberal Theology”.
And I’m enjoying mightily the DVD first season of The Boondocks.
Okay, I’m going to get Abide With Me and the Steve Martin book. I’m so glad someone else thought Gilead was a ginormous bore. Which it was. I kept reading it until I finished, thinking it would get better. It didn’t.
Thanks for this list.
The best I’ve read so far in the non-fiction group is “failure of nerve: leadership in a age of quick fix” by Ed Friedman. Absolutely the wisest practical book on leadership, using insights from biology and more. I’m serious in a playful way, this is one of those books, like generation to generation, that is truly worth reading.
So many books, so little time…Maybe I need to pretend I have a nursing baby and set aside time every few hours to read, for about 15 minutes!
Ooh, I’m a big fan of the Alfie Kohn books. His book “Punished by Rewards” is especially good.
Oops, you’re right PPB. I had wanted to keep track of all of my nursing reading, so technically my 2008 list started in 2007!
Ooh, Abide With Me sounds great… have to track that down.
You should really think about joining GoodReads. You don’t have to add every book in your library (though I got close, as I imported my list from LibraryThing); you can just add what you’re reading currently. It’s so fun to see what your friends are reading, and it makes the keeping track super easy. I’m hooked.
That’s a wonderfully balanced list - really REALLY impressive. Perhaps I’ll join in…but equally, perhaps I’ll be too shamed by the narrowness of my reading.
Too much church. Rather alot of trash. Not enough in between. Hmmmn
Just ordered the latest Steve Martin book. I’ll let you know when I’m done with it. I have Abide With Me on the shelf (a gift to my husband). Thanks for the motivation to pick it up.
I’m reading The God of Small Things. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought Gilead was boring. Enjoy the time!
I’m partway through BORN STANDING UP, Steve Martin’s autobiography. It’s worth looking for.
I’ve noticed on the blogosphere that there seems to be an increased interest in bookchat. YAY! I liked “Gilead” OK, but have to admit that “Abide With Me” was much better. I loved it. “The God of Small Things” is also a major favorite of mine - in fact, am about due for a re-read on that one. I’m going to order that churchy one that you recommend on Amazon today.
Wow, we should start a support group for churchy women who didn’t like Gilead but were afraid to say so till rm bravely blazed the trail! Add me to that group. And to the Abide with Me fans, too.
And perhaps you have one more hand than I, because I can’t figure out how to do anything besides watch tv and nurse. Our little one and I are far from experts, though.
Thanks for the list and for the inspiration to get back to the books, which I love but have been neglected of late.
I didn’t like Gilead, either.
I mean, there were some great quotes from it, but otherwise–eh.
Now housekeeping—that was STUNNING, which is why Gilead was such a major disappointment.
You have a great list! I’ve read Steve Martin’s SHOPGIRL, THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY (a favorite), and BORN STANDING UP. He’s amazing.
NIGHT was heartbreaking. I loved Anna Deveare Smith in West Wing…must read what she’s written. Keep posting your reading lists!!